System and method for calculating savings

ABSTRACT

A system and method for calculating savings using a savings calculator for calculating savings realized over a period of time for several travel-related categories of expenses using respective pre-defined formulas and for producing a savings summary report and worksheets.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/726,339, filed Oct. 13, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a savings calculator, andmore particularly to a system and method for calculating savingsrealized over a period of time for several categories useful to amanager of travel related services.

2. Related Art

In the past, providers of travel related services to travel customerswould operate using a transactional business model, that is, the serviceproviders would charge a commission related to an individual transactionrequested by the travel customer.

Recently, there has been a move by the providers of travel relatedservices from the transactional business model to an advisory servicemodel.

In the advisory service model, the relationship between the provider andthe customer is based on the value provided to the travel customerrather than merely charging a commission per transaction.

Given the foregoing, what is needed is a system, method and computerprogram product that would allow a manager of such a relationship, in astandardized fashion, to evaluate and quantify the value brought to acustomer over a period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets the above-identified needs by providing asystem, method and computer program product for calculating savings.

An advantage of the present invention is that it furnishes travelservice providers with a tool for producing a savings summary report fora travel customer. The manager, using this tool, can present to thecustomer the actual savings provided during a period of time ofinterest. This savings summary report also provides the travel customerguidance on how to save even more.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it affords theprovider's service managers a tool with which they can quantify thevalue of their company's service to a customer over a particular periodof time.

A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a toolthat guides its users step by step through the process of collecting theraw data necessary to produce a standardized savings summary report.Since such users are especially likely to be managers of relationshipswith particular clients, and not necessarily accountants, this benefitwill make preparation of an effective report both faster and easier.

Features of the system, method, and computer program product forcalculating savings realized over a period of time for a plurality ofcategories of expenses include the receiving of raw data input from auser, the categorizing of the raw data into a plurality of variables,the calculating of the savings realized over the period of time for theplurality of categories based on a respective plurality of pre-definedformulas having as input the plurality of variables, the producing of asavings summary report based on the calculated savings realized over theperiod of time for the plurality of categories, and the outputting ofthe produced savings summary report.

Further features and advantages of the present invention as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present inventionare described in detail below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings in which like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-mostdigit of a reference number identifies the drawing in which thereference number first appears.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a customer's performanceassessment report in the preparation of which the savings calculatorcould be used according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the savings calculator is used to linkraw data to a business review according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a savings summary report according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing features of the savings calculator accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A through 3D show examples of glossary output screens fordifferent categories of expenses produced by the savings calculatoraccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3E and 3F show examples of worksheet output screens for differentsavings categories of expenses produced by the savings calculatoraccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a benefit of the savings calculatoraccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the savings calculator produces a savingsummary report according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how the savings summary report is integratedinto the business review according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 7-10 show examples of variables, definitions, and formulas used bythe present invention, as input data, derived data, or output data.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system useful forimplementing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Overview

The present invention is directed to a system, method and computerprogram product for calculating savings. The present invention is nowdescribed in more detail herein in terms of the above exemplarydescription. This is for convenience only and is not intended to limitthe application of the present invention. In fact, after reading thefollowing description, it will be apparent to one skilled in therelevant arts how to implement the following invention in alternativeembodiments.

The terms “customer,” “travel customer,” “manager,” “provider,”“client,” and “service provider,” and/or the plural form of these termsare used interchangeably throughout herein to refer to those persons orentities capable of accessing, using, being affected by and/orbenefiting from the tool that the present invention provides forcalculating savings.

The invention is intended to be of particular utility to an organization(e.g., a large corporation), in which it may be difficult to measuresavings due to the large size of the entity and to the difficulties ofgathering all of the relevant data and of analyzing that data in orderto obtain guidance as to how to improve savings performance.

In what follows, an example of the invention as applied to travelexpenditures will be explained with reference to the figures.

II. System

Referring to FIG. 1, a system diagram 100 is shown as an example of aprocedure in which the savings calculator is used according to anembodiment of the present invention.

A customer's performance assessment report 100 typically includesseveral reports, for example, a needs assessment report 110 translatingclient goals (e.g., money savings, control over who travels, etc.) intoactions (e.g., reduce transaction costs, restricting class of travel,etc.), a sales/re-bid report 120 presenting the proposed actions andavailable products that can be used in achieving those goals (e.g., aticket tracker such as the method under the service mark TICKET TRAX®, aregistered service mark of American Express Company, for finding andprocessing unused refundable e-tickets), a business plan report 130listing initiatives (e.g., move the customer on-line) and tactics (e.g.,training programs), and a business review report 140 demonstratingperformance. The savings calculator is used as a tool in the preparationof business review report 140.

Referring to FIG. 2, a system diagram 200 is shown as an example of howthe savings calculator 230 is used in the preparation of the businessreview report 140.

Input data for savings calculator 230 is obtained from multiple reports220 that the provider of travel related services creates in the normalcourse of its business, typically using raw travel data 210 residing inmultiple databases. Savings calculator 230 uses this data to produce asavings summary report 240 as is described below and shown in FIG. 2A.Savings summary report 240 is then included in business review report140.

Referring to FIG. 3, features of savings calculator 230 according to anembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toan example of a graphical-unit interface (GUI) display of the savingscalculator homepage.

Savings calculator 230 provides the user, usually a manager, withdetailed instructions on how to gather the necessary data by selectingthe “instructions” button 310 on the GUI display.

Further, by selecting the “data input worksheet” button 320, the user isguided through the data entry, as is described below in detail. When thedata entry is completed, selection of the “savings summary” button 330causes a savings summary report showing savings in several categories ofexpenses to be generated and displayed.

Worksheets section 340 of savings calculator 230 provides the user witha display of interim calculations and data for each savings category.FIGS. 3E and 3F show examples of worksheet output screens produced bythe savings calculator.

Furthermore, glossary section 350 includes rapid navigate buttons that,when activated, explain the variable inputs needed and the respectiveformulas for calculating the savings for each of the savings categories.The savings categories and their respective formulas are described belowin detail.

These glossaries, which include the verbal and mathematical explanationsof the inputs and formulas utilized, serve the important purpose ofhelping to improve the users' understanding of Savings Calculator 230,and hence increase also their confidence in the validity of its results.

FIG. 3A shows an example of a glossary output screen for the “OnlineAdoption” savings category. As can be seen, the calculation based onthis screen multiplies on-line transaction volume by a change inadoption rate (the percentage of purchase that are made on-line) and thedifference in fee as between on-line and other purchases, to obtain thesavings achievable by increasing on-line purchases and reducing othertypes of purchases. FIG. 3B shows an example of a glossary output screenfor the “Advance Purchases” savings category, relating to a similarcalculation, in which a savings based on increasing early grouppurchases (the savings from each advance purchase grouping are addedtogether to obtain the total savings). FIG. 3C shows an example of aglossary output screen for the “Non-Refundable Tickets” savingscategory, in which, for each ticket class (e.g., economy, business,first class, etc.) the savings achieved by purchasing non-refundablerather than refundable tickets is calculated, and the savings for thedifferent ticket classes are added together. FIG. 3D shows an example ofthe glossary output screen for the “Ticket Tracker Refundable” savingscategory, in which the net savings realized by obtaining refunds onunused tickets are tallied. As can be seen, each of these glossary viewsprovides an overview section, a value methodology section, and an inputsand assumptions section for the corresponding savings category.

FIG. 4 shows an example of how the user is guided to the relevant reportfields of the reports 220, to find data required for input to the inputpages of savings calculator 230. For example, for the input variable“Total transaction volume, current,” savings calculator 230 shows theuser the value for this variable.

This feature results in time savings, since the user is instructed bysavings calculator 230 itself where to get the data needed for eachinput field. Since all users thus employ the same data from the samereports as inputs for savings calculator 230, this feature also producesthe important benefit that different users' reports are consistentthroughout the organization.

FIG. 5 shows an example of how savings calculator 230 uses savingcalculations 510 for calculating the savings realized over a period oftime for several categories of expenses 520 using respective pre-definedformulas 530 to produce the savings summary report 240.

The savings summary report 240 is included in the business review report140, as shown in FIG. 6, to illustrate the calculated savings realizedover the period of time for each of the categories of expenses. Theinclusion of the savings summary report 240 in the business reviewreport 140 helps demonstrate the value provided to the travel customer.

III. Process

The categories of expenses, shown in overview as 520 in FIG. 5, and therespective pre-defined formulas, 530 in FIG. 5, used to calculate thesavings realized for certain of the categories of expenses are shown indetail in FIGS. 7-10.

In particular, FIG. 7 shows the formulas for calculating the “OnlineAdoption” savings category, which shows the user how much more can besaved depending on what percentage of ticket purchase is performedon-line. In addition, as shown in that Figure, savings calculator 230provides an output (termed “Visual Guilt” in this embodiment) whichhelps show how much can be saved by using on-line ticket purchasing (thesavings achievable by always buying on-line for the top 100 routes iscalculated and displayed).

FIG. 8 shows the formulas for calculating the “International Fare Trax,”“Ticket Tracker,” and “CMS” saving categories.

“International Fare Trax” is a product offered by the travel servicesprovider to clients for finding them the lowest possible internationalfare by using experts having detailed knowledge of fare rules andrestrictions of airlines around the world. The “Auto Fare” variable usedin the formula for calculating the savings generated by the“International Fare Trax” savings category relates to the first-passairfare returned from an automated booking engine for an internationaltravel itinerary.

The “Gain Share Rate” variable used in the formula for calculating thesavings generated by the “Ticket Tracker” savings category is thecontracted fraction (e.g., 0.8 for tickets less than 180 days old and0.5 for tickets more than 180 days old) of the value of recovered,unused airline tickets, that the travel services provider passes on tothe client.

“CMS” is an advisory group within the travel services providerorganization that provides consulting advice to clients for reducingtheir group travel expenses.

FIG. 9 shows the formulas for calculating the “Advance Purchase” and“Use of Non-Refundable/Discount Tickets” savings categories, and FIG. 10shows the formula for calculating the “Platform Optimization” savingscategory.

Of course, these categories are only examples, and others could beadopted instead or in addition. Whatever categories are used, theyshould be mutually exclusive so that no savings are counted more thanonce.

IV. Example Implementations

The present invention may be implemented using hardware, software or acombination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computersystems or other processing systems. However, the manipulationsperformed by the present invention were often referred to in terms, suchas adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mentaloperations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a humanoperator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of theoperations described herein, which form part of the present invention.Rather, the operations are machine operations. Useful machines forperforming the operation of the present invention includegeneral-purpose digital computers or similar devices.

In fact, in one embodiment, the invention is directed toward one or morecomputer systems capable of carrying out the functionality describedherein. An example of a computer system 1110 is shown in FIG. 11.

The computer system 100 includes one or more processors, such asprocessor 1104. The processor 1104 is connected to a communicationinfrastructure 1106 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, ornetwork). Various software embodiments are described in terms of thisexemplary computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how toimplement the invention using other computer systems and/orarchitectures.

Computer system 1100 can include a display interface 1102 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure1106 (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on the display unit1130.

Computer system 100 also includes a main memory 1108, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 1110. Thesecondary memory 1110 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 1112and/or a removable storage drive 1114, representing a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storagedrive 1114 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 1118 ina well known manner. Removable storage unit 1118 represents a floppydisk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. which is read by and written toby removable storage drive 1114. As will be appreciated, the removablestorage unit 1118 includes a computer usable storage medium havingstored therein computer software and/or data.

In alternative embodiments, secondary memory 1110 may include othersimilar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions tobe loaded into computer system 100. Such devices may include, forexample, a removable storage unit 1122 and an interface 1120. Examplesof such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such asthat found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as anerasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable readonly memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storageunits 1122 and interfaces 1120, which allow software and data to betransferred from the removable storage unit 1122 to computer system1100.

Computer system 1100 may also include a communications interface 1124.Communications interface 1124 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 1100 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 1124 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 1124 are inthe form of signals 1128 which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 1124. These signals 1128 are provided to communicationsinterface 1124 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 1126. Thischannel 1126 carries signals 1128 and may be implemented using wire orcable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radiofrequency (RF) link and other communications channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removablestorage drive 1114, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 1112, andsignals 1128. These computer program products provide software tocomputer system 1100. The invention is directed to such computer programproducts.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 1108 and/or secondary memory 1110. Computerprograms may also be received via communications interface 1124. Suchcomputer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 1100 toperform the features of the present invention, as discussed herein. Inparticular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor1104 to perform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, suchcomputer programs represent controllers of the computer system 1100.

In an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 1100 using removable storage drive 1114, hard drive 1112or communications interface 1124. The control logic (software), whenexecuted by the processor 1104, causes the processor 1104 to perform thefunctions of the invention as described herein.

In another embodiment, the invention is implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, hardware components such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardwarestate machine so as to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In yet another embodiment, the invention is implemented using acombination of both hardware and software.

V. Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any ofthe above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures and screen shotsillustrated in the attachments, which highlight the functionality andadvantages of the present invention, are presented for example purposesonly. The architecture of the present invention is sufficiently flexibleand configurable, such that it may be utilized (and navigated) in waysother than that shown in the accompanying figures.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to thescope of the present invention in any way. It is also to be understoodthat the steps and processes recited in the claims need not be performedin the order presented.

1. A method for calculating savings realized over a period of time for aplurality of categories of expenses, comprising the steps of: receivingraw data including one of data retrieved from a database and datareceived from a user; categorizing the raw data into a plurality ofcategories of data, each category of data corresponding to a respectivepre-defined variable; calculating the savings realized over the periodof time for each category of expenses using a respective set of at leastone pre-defined formula, each formula using at least one of theplurality of variables; producing a summary report based on thecalculated savings realized over the period of time for the plurality ofcategories of expenses; and outputting the summary report.
 2. A systemfor calculating savings realized over a period of time for a pluralityof categories of expenses, comprising: means for receiving raw dataincluding one of data retrieved from a database and data received from auser; means for categorizing the raw data into a plurality of categoriesof data, each category of data corresponding to a respective pre-definedvariable; means for calculating the savings realized over the period oftime for each category of expenses using a respective set of at leastone pre-defined formula, each formula using at least one of theplurality of variables; means for producing a summary report based onthe calculated savings realized over the period of time for theplurality of categories of expenses; and means for outputting thesummary report.
 3. A computer program product comprising a computerusable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computerto calculate savings realized over a period of time for a plurality ofcategories of expenses, said control logic comprising: first computerreadable program code for causing the computer to receive raw dataincluding one of data retrieved from a database and data received from auser; second computer readable program code for causing the computer tocategorize the raw data into a plurality of categories of data, eachcategory of data corresponding to a respective pre-defined variable;third computer readable program code for causing the computer tocalculate the savings realized over the period of time for each categoryof expenses using a respective set of at least one pre-defined formula,each formula using at least one of the plurality of variables; fourthcomputer readable program code for causing the computer to produce asummary report based on the calculated savings realized over the periodof time for the plurality of categories of expenses; and fifth computerreadable program code for causing the computer to output the summaryreport.